This invention relates generally to computers and more particularly to processing multi-media data as a digital VCR.
With the advent of digital video technology, many new and exciting products are available. One such product is a digital videocassette recorders (VCR), personal video recorder (PVR), or digital video recorder (DVR), which receives an analog television broadcast, converts it into an MPEG (xe2x80x9cMotion Picture Expert Groupxe2x80x9d) digital format and stores the MPEG video. By storing the television broadcast signals in a digital format, the user may view the recorded digital images in a variety of ways, including fast forward, rewind, pause, etc.
The digital VCR allows a user to store various programs and to amass a substantial amount of video data. Such video data may span several hours of program viewing. When the user desires to watch a particular program or particular section of a program, the user inputs the particular start time that corresponds with the beginning of a program or the desired section. For example, if the user has stored programs that are broadcast via a network channel that begin at 7:00 p.m. and end at 10:00 p.m. and desires to watch the program that began at 8:30 p.m., the user would enter 8:30 p.m. as the start time.
Currently available digital VCRs, while providing many of the advantages, have some limitations. For instance, when the digital VCR receives a television broadcast, it can only store it as digital information and then allow it to be played back. If the user is watching a program in real-time (i.e., at the time of broadcast), there is a delay due to the digital processing and storage, which adds delay when the user changes channels. Another limitation is that, if a program is to be stored, the user must have initiated the storage option prior to the program starting. If not, only the portion that is received after the storage option was initiated will be stored. For example, if the user initiates the storage option fifteen minutes into a program, the fifteen minutes will be lost. Another limitation is that current digital VCRs do not allow for storage of still images of video, nor do they allow for multiple simultaneous reads of the stored digital video data.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus for a digital VCR that allows for the playing of live video, allows for archiving a program regardless of when the storage option is initiated, reduces delays when changing channels, and allows for multiple simultaneous reads of the stored digital video.